January

Starting off January with an old-trusty favourite, pie! I think it was raspberry pie to lift our spirits towards summer on a dreary winter day!

Another healthy dinner, "Eat to Live" style. Notice how half the plate is teaming with a leafy green salad. I have taken to using only home made dressings on my salads, after being spoiled by Nicola when I take my yoga students on retreat at Harmony Dawn Retreat Center. My favourite dressing is the tahini dressing from Dreena's Vive le Vegan cookbook. Served with the salad was a quinoa and chickpea pilaf. Blogger won't let me put the image up right now, so I will try to post it later!


Next is a mellow mushroom and brown rice soup, which was honestly a bit of a bore. But, the muffins were outstanding! They were packed with protein, made with quinoa and almond flour. I got the recipe from Veganomicon. I will definitely be making these again. They are not much to look at, but they sure tasted good.

Where to start?

I didn't even know if blogger was going to let me in, I haven't been here in so long. This is my busiest time of year as a lifestyle coach, yoga and pilates instructor, and blogging has definitely fallen by the wayside! I'm still cooking and eating healthy. Here's a look at what I have been cooking and eat.


Check out this healthy dinner! I don't even remember what it is! Looks like a burrito with fresh salsa on top. Notice the nice big healthy green leafy salad, "Eat to Live" style.



Look at this beautiful tea my friend Carolyn gave me for Christmas. They came in a gorgeous silk bags. My favourite was something rainforest... actually they were all good, and gone pretty quick too!



The last thing from December was this nifty chili recipe, with a built-in corn bread recipe. It didn't turn out quite right, but the chili was awesome. We ate a lot of chili in December, it went with our terrible colds!

I'm getting ready for my Thai vegetarian cooking class on March 1, 2008. I have most of the menu settled, but I am still looking for a green curry recipe. If anybody has a favourite, feel free to send it along!

Back on track!

The last few weeks have been busy, busy. Top that off with a nasty flu that lasted a week and you get no blog entries. I got a new camera last week, so I am adjusting to that as well. First, you will have to be exposed to some shiny pictures. I only learned how to turn off the flash last night.



First up, a healthy salad. This salad has hemp seed nuts for protein and pumpkin seeds for iron. This salad is topped with Dreena's garlicy tahini dressing from Vive le Vegan. I love this dressing. It is my absolute favourite.



Next up is a new chili recipe from Dreena's Eat Drink and Be Vegan. This recipe has cocoa, coconut, and coconut milk in it! Let me tell you this is one rich chili!



Finally, yesterday I made the chickun pizzza from Dreena's Eat Drink and Be Vegan. What took me so long? I loved this pizza. It is so delicious and you don't even miss the cheese! I served it with a fresh salad of leafy greens topped with cilantro and bean srpouts! Crispy and yummy!

Last two cooking classes

I can't believe I have hosted two cooking classes since my last post. Maybe that explains why I haven't had time to post! On October 27th I hosted a healthy vegan baking cooking class. We cooked up some of Dreena's best baking recipes from chocolate cake, to healthy rice krispie squares (my favourite) and apple streudal. Dreena was kind enough to donate a cook book for a giveaway. We had a very happy winner of her new cook book, Eat Drink and Be Vegan.



We had such a great time. We made all the desserts in the morning and then sat down to a plate of desserts for lunch with tea at about noon.

Last night I hosted another fantastic vegetarian cooking class. Asian Feast was back by popular demand. We made spring rolls, summer rolls and Buddha bowls. We had such an amazing time.



I can't wait until my next vegetarian cooking class on December 1. This one is a must attend for all vegetarians, vegans, selectatarians, and vegequarians alike. We are going to cook up a wonderful holiday feast for all those who avoid turkey on Christmas day.

Mexican Lasagna

This is another recipe from Dreena's new cook book Eat Drink and be Vegan. This recipe is super healthy. The legumes give a great boost of fiber and protein. I wasn't overly fond of the cooked avacado, but next time I think I would just leave it out. I love these layer casseroles.

Happy Thanksgiving - Canada

For Thanksgiving this year I made Walnut, White Bean & Spinach Phyllo Rolls from Dreena's new cook book, Eat Drink and Be Vegan. I folded the phyllo into triangles and served it as appetizers to my family. Then the vegans in the family ate the rolls with cranberry sauce for their main dish. It was yummy and received rave reviews. I also made the chocolate pumpkin pie. I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of it, but here is Dreena's picture here.

Cafe 668, Toronto

Cafe 668 is my absolute favourite veggie restaurant in Toronto. Now with their new digs down the road it is actually a place you can go for a nice dinner out. Add to that the fact that they now serve alcohol and you have a proper evening out.


Here I am raising a glass to our dinner. The front of the restaurant looking out onto the street is glass from floor to ceiling.


This is the famous and very delicious cafe 668 salad.


We also started with pan fried dumplings...notice we forgot to take a photo until half way through. My daughter, Trinity, loved these.


This is the crispy house noodles. YUMMY!


We always order the curries here. I love the texture and flavour of these coconut curries. This is the vegetable curry.


This is my favourite dish, the coconut curried eggplant.


At the front door they have these really cute pinapple plants.


Here's my husband, Tim, getting fancy with the photography using the mirrors on the west wall. Check out the new digs for Cafe 668. They are totally gorgeous and the food is absolutely delicious.

My first recipe from Eat Drink and Be Vegan

I was totally starving and exhausted after all my coaching calls last night, but hubby was out with the car which made take out a mute point. I decided to whip up the sun dried tomato pesto from Dreena's new cook book, Eat Drink and be Vegan. This recipe was super easy and delicious. I think I whipped it up in the same amount of time that it would have taken me to get take out. This recipe is satisfying without any cheese and filled with nuts for protein.

I served it with a nice Shiraz. This South African red wine was bold and full of flavour, just the way I like it! Isn't the cork cute with the giraffe on it?

Mango Bundles

Earlier this week Trinity and I made these darling mango bundles from Quick Fix Vegetarian. These were really fun and easy to make. I cut up the mango and Trinity did all the assembly work. They were quick and easy and really impressive. Tastey too!